American Muslim Identity

In the film, mosque members struggle to forge a uniquely American Muslim identity out of the community’s diverse mix of cultures — but they have different ideas on what that identity should be, and they face resistance from other Muslims who prefer to maintain traditional practices from their home countries.

Some Muslims argue that the American experience offers an unprecedented opportunity to forge a truly universal Islamic culture. Others are concerned that Americanization may change the religion itself rather than merely adapt its cultural practices to a new context. Many Muslims — from America and overseas — have cited the woman-led prayer Asra Nomani helped to organize in May 2005 as an example of this danger.

In this collection of original essays, leaders and thinkers from across the U.S. and Canada reflect on what it means to be Muslim in North America.

Professor of Indo-Muslim and Islamic Religion and Cultures, Harvard UniversityJust as American forms of Catholicism and American forms of Judaism have had an enormous impact on their traditions globally, it is very likely that American forms of Islam will, in the future, be at the vanguard of dialogue on diversity in the greater Muslim world.